Powered by RealTown Blogs

Manhattan Loft Guy

Sep. 3, 2006 - “vast loft like” apartment at the Stewart House (not!) / marketing mumbo jumbo


Loft-"like" sticks out (badly) in a loft neighborhood
I was cruising the NYTimes.com site (what you sometimes have to do without a true MLS in Manhattan) and came across this listing described as a “[v]ast loft like 2 bedroom apartment”. It happens to be in a neighborhood that has real loft buildings, south of Union Square, but this one is most definitely not a loft building, nor is this apartment “loft like”. But the agent wants the cachet of “lofts” so that is how she is selling it. To me, a peculiar choice.

It is a second floor unit in The Stewart House, 70 East 10 St, which is a fine postwar coop building with a high level of service. What it is not is a loft building. It was built as a coop in 1960 (not as a rental, and later converted) and it looks every bit the 1960 apartment that it is: white brick, low-ish ceilings (8.5 feet??), standard apartment-sized windows.
 
That’s the main picture in the listing, but check out the pictures in the NYT listing offered by Beth Chase. Please tell me immediately if you think “loft like” when viewing these photos.
 
Marketing the to wrong buyers?
If I have a buyer looking for anything "like" a loft, I am not taking the buyer to the Stewart House. And anyone who likes the units in The Stewart House is not going to look at lofts. Curious marketing choices….
 
As it happens I was in this building with a “non loft” buyer about a week ago, looking at a Corcoran listing by Janice Figueroa and Michael Jones. The unit we looked at (see listing data here) was pretty much the opposite of a loft – though it had its own charms as an “apartment”. It is in very good original condition (meaning, nearly 50 year old bathrooms and kitchen). Indeed, the telephone on the far nightstand that you can just barely see in the picture below is a rotary. (If you don’t know what a rotary phone is, ask your mother.) If you go see this unit, say hello to Janice for me.
 
© Sandy Mattingly 2006
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
View more entries tagged with: None

Write a Comment

Your Name:  RealTown Members: Click here to login
Your E-Mail: 
Your Website: 
Subject: 
Your Comment: 
Notifications: 
Privacy: 
Verification: 
To verify that you are a human and not a script, please enter the verification word from the image into the box on the right.
 

on matters of interest to Manhattan coop or condo loft apartment dwellers, buyers, sellers, and others, especially about New York City real estate

Recent Posts

• loft developer in default at 654 Broadway
• nice price at 40 West 24 Street? (consider the renovation)
• 8 years, still fresh
• do any of you people know how to pray?
• new loft price needs to be justified


RSS Blog Feed

Categories

apartment types
bubble talk
caution: no real estate content
change is a constant
economic "analysis"
general weird stuff
In the news (me)
loft features / amenities
loft features / kitchens
loft features / outdoor space
loft features / "space"
loft features / views
lofts in 'other' neighborhoods
Loft neighborhoods / Chelsea
Loft neighborhoods/ East Village
Loft neighborhoods / Flatiron
loft neighborhoods / NoHo
Loft neighborhoods / SoHo
Loft neighborhoods / Tribeca
loft neighborhoods / West 30s
lofts outside New York??
loft style
Manhattan real estate business
Market Data - aggregators
Market Data - reports
Market Trends
Marketing Manhattan apartments
New York, New York, New York
On The Market
open houses
pricing analysis
The Process - buying an apartment
Psychology of the market
public art in Manhattan
schools
truth IS stranger...
what makes a loft a "loft"
internet and blogosphere
renovation opportunities + rewards
One Bed Wonders
new this week


Favorite Links

Manhattan Users Guide (be sure to search the archives)
The Gotham Center for NYC History
Matrix the Real Estate Economy
Hopstop (door-to-door subway instructions)
MTA subway site, including maps + schedules
NYC Dept of Education site
NY State Assn of Independent Schools (find private schools)
cul-cha!
the local TriBeCa newspaper
"the weekly newspaper of lower Manhattan"
Brooklyn, but a great blog

Links

• Home
• View my profile
• Archives
• Email Me
• Blog Manager